What If You Spoil a High School Girl Who Looks Like a Landmine? - Volume 1 Chapter 1.1

Tension, Keep it Up! 1

“Dinner, huh…”

On my way home from work, I let out a sigh as I stopped at a supermarket to buy ingredients.

I don’t mind cooking, but when it comes to cooking just for myself, I lose all motivation.

“…Hmm.”

Even though I know I should consider nutritional value, my thoughts stall as if my brain was clouded.

“…Ah, whatever.”

Just get some vegetable-like stuff, meat or fish-like stuff, and some carbohydrates should be good enough, probably.

Reaching the same conclusion as always, I picked up a head of lettuce from the display.

When it comes to vegetables, it’s always this: no other options.

Next is…

“…Wait, please.”

“Yes?”

Abruptly, I felt a grip on my arm.

Turning around in surprise, the person standing there was——

“…Huh? …Uh, what?”

“I’m sorry for surprising you.”

Clad in contrasting colors of black and pink, frills with a sweet design, and seductive lace, she stood vivid even under the fluorescent lights.

Yes, she was that girl, wrapped in a fashion style you might call ‘jirai-kei (Landmine)’.

Her thin, white hand was gripping the arm that I’d been using to put lettuce into my basket.

“Um …excuse me?”

I can’t say ‘who are you?’ because I know her face, but it’s not like we’ve had any significant interactions before either.

Right now, her eyes were fixated on me.

Whether it’s because of her attire, her makeup, or just her aura, her eyes strangely lacked any sparkle.

They were dark as if it was constantly consuming all the light around them.

For the first time in my life, I realized there could be a darkness more beautiful than any shining light.

Her unique beauty seemed almost out of this world.

“About the lettuce…”

“…Lettuce?”

“While it’s fine, you’re not getting much nutrition from just that…!”

I felt like I heard some words full of the sense of daily life.

“If you’re eating vegetables, try to include some with deep colors. Light-colored vegetables are important too, but ideally, you should have around 120 grams of green and yellow vegetables per day——”

Wait, is she seriously talking about this? The gap between her appearance and what she’s saying is too big.

“A healthy lifestyle starts with your diet.”

She adds, despite the fact that her makeup and fashion scream ‘sickly aesthetic’ or something along those things…

“As for today… ah, tomatoes and eggplants are on sale! Do you like them?”

“Ah, they’re fine, I guess.”

“Not a fan of cooking?”

“I usually just make something simple…”

“In that case——”

Still confused, I ended up answering her questions, and she proceeded to introduce me to various easy recipes using tomatoes and eggplants.

“Oh, so you marinate it and then bake it with cheese on top…”

“It’s simple but delicious~”

“Maybe I’ll try that for today then…”

I’m not sure why she started talking to me, but she doesn’t seem to be someone I should be particularly wary of…

“Is that so? Hehe, that’s good then…”

” ….. “

Just when I was starting to let my guard down, alarms rang inside my head.

“——By all means, please do so.”

Because her smile was so eerily enchanting.

Eyes that seemed to trap the darkness of the night curved like a bow, and her mouth cracked into a crescent moon.

If one were to put it into a sound, ‘(ニイイイ)’ would be the most fitting——it’s an enigmatic way of smiling.

(TN: ニイイイ, Niii is a Japanese sound effect that is often used to depict a particular kind of eerie or unsettling laugh or grin.)

Her fashion style complemented it; if she were a character in a movie or anime, one hundred out of a hundred people would suspect ‘there’s more to her than meets the eye..’

…No-no, I can’t judge people solely by their appearance!

“I was worried because you’re always buying just lettuce.”

“…Wait, always? You’ve been watching me?”

“Ah…”

As if realizing her mistake, she suddenly stops moving.

…Well, I can’t just ignore what she said.

“Um, who exactly are you…?”

“That, um, well, …I, I am…I am so sorry!!”

“Ah, wait…so fast!?”

Wearing shoes that clearly aren’t made for running, she kicked the ground loudly and at high speed, disappearing from sight almost instantly.

Too fast; I can’t even catch up to her even if I tried.

Wow, she’s full of surprises right until the very end.

…Somehow, the whole scene feels so surreal that I wonder if I’d hallucinated it because I was tired after my part-time job.

“…Anyway.”

I don’t know what’s going on anymore, but oh well.

“Should I buy them… tomatoes and eggplants?”

At the very least, I think the recommendation seemed somewhat useful.

***

“——So, something like that happened.”

“…You…”

The day after, it’s Sunday.

Starting my shift in the morning and prepping the store for opening, I told my manager about yesterday’s events.

Then he let out a big sigh.

“What are you so calm about? Aren’t you being stalked?”

“…Is that really what it is?”

“What else could it be…”

Rubbing his temples, the manager shook his head.

“Be vigilant! You never know what might happen! You should be afraid! The tenacity of girls like that… I, too, back in the day… Ah, just thinking about it gives me chills…”

“I don’t know what you’ve experienced, but could your poor taste in women be the cause?”

“…We’re getting off-track. Anyway, it’s that girl with the jirai-kei fashion who’s been coming around often, right? I remember her too. Her attire would be unusual even in Tokyo, let alone around here.”

This town isn’t so deserted that it feels lonely, but a girl dressed like her would stand out for better or worse.

It’s a typical provincial city.

“You, You don’t seem to have a sense of urgency, and I’m worried. This is a dangerous situation… Huh? Wait, we’re out of these beans!?”

“I told you that we’re running low and need to reorder, didn’t I?”

“What? You said that? No, you didn’t.”

“…There’s a reserve on the third shelf in the back. Please remember it next time.”

“Ah, …you’re right! Then it’s all good~”

As I glare at him, the manager clears his throat with an exaggerated ‘Ahem.’

“Let’s both have a sense of urgency.”

“Could it be it’s because of the blood, that we’re both cheerfully careless in similar ways?”

Here at work, I use polite language and call him ‘manager,’ but this man is actually my uncle.

Incidentally, despite being my relative, he’s a handsome guy with stubble and quite the ladies’ man.

“…Not sure about that. I think your nonchalance is different from mine.”

“Is it?”

“…Well, it doesn’t matter, just be cautious. Given what I heard from you, she might even know where you live, so especially be careful on your way home.”

“Okay, I will. …Ah, it’s already time to open. I’ll go flip the sign outside.”

“Alright, thanks.”

I step outside, ringing the doorbell as I go.

After flipping the sign to ‘OPEN,’ I notice that there’s already a customer waiting in front of the store.

“I apologize for the wait. Welcome.”

“…Y-Yes.”

She’s around my age, probably a high schooler.

With her loosely braided hair swinging, she walks into the shop looking somewhat timid.

…That voice sounds familiar somehow.

Well, never mind. Work is work.